Spirituality and Depression

Call upon me and I will respond to you… 

This is a very sensitive topic as it has different meaning to every individual. Spirituality can be described as a sense of connection to ‘God’. Sometimes we need to use our mind to pause and reflect on where you’ve been, where you are and where you need to go. The only difference between religion and spirituality is that religion has fixed set of beliefs of a community or group of people whereas spirituality depends on individual person and whatever they believe. Spirituality for me means If you can control your thoughts and actions, you are able to change when and where it’s required and let go of the ego in you. I put my trust in the almighty who I believe is the source of my existence,  It helps me relax and calms me down, when I am facing anxiety and stress I go and just pray and disconnect from the world. Having said that, spirituality could have different effects on people with mental health. We are enacting different roles in the world, which enables us to attain what we wish to achieve. One thing I would strongly suggest to everyone, do your research and read about what you hear, have been told etc. Never believe things without investigating yourself. You must educate yourself enough to understand what your faith is, what is right and wrong.  I believe our relationship with the god is very personal and nobody else has the right to judge this. 

When a person is anxious about the future or a certain situation in their life, it is because they do not know how to act in a way that fulfils their needs. All the versions of themselves fail to work. What we are supposed to want and desire is programmed into our thoughts and minds right from childhood. This is the influence of the culture and society our parents belonged to. They teach us the same way they were brought up because some of them were never told they can improve their life as they grow.  This doesn’t mean all the parents are same, so many parents I know, who are very understanding and give their kids the space they need in order to grow. It’s about time that we realised we cannot feed our kids the same information we were fed because with time the generations change, rules and mindsets change. We need to grow out of this box of other people’s perception of life and beliefs and upgrade our own life based on our own experience. 

We’re in the middle of a mystery, and we don’t find out how it ends until it’s over, the mystery between the two world’s. As I have been brought up with the belief that this is a temporary life and the real life is the one here after and the end isn’t yet written.  There’s nothing wrong with having a plan, as long as we realise that the moment we begin taking action, we may have to drop or change part or all of that plan as we face the unfolding of real life.  The danger of planning is that it becomes an excuse for not taking action. We may resist doing things where we risk embarrassment but if understand our own strengths and weaknesses we can 

When we have a clear purpose about something that really matters, we’re able to override the body and mind’s natural resistance to discomfort, embarrassment, and even pain. An opening of the heart is an essential aspect of true spirituality. Without that clarity of purpose, we are much more likely to remain within our comfort zone and just do the things we feel like doing. Healthy spirituality gives a sense of peace, it help us balance our emotional and physical aspects of our lives. It also seen that people who have religious or spiritual beliefs are happier and more satisfied with their life than those who don’t, no matter what their beliefs. Both religion and spirituality can have a positive impact on mental health. In some ways, they provide the same impact. We will always be defined by our experiences of life not anybody else’s. 

He knows what is in every heart.  – Surah Mulak – The Quran.